PITTSBURGH -- The following is a transcript of a report by medical editor Marilyn Brooks that first aired March 26, 2008, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh might be one step closer to being able to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in living patients.

A study, reported in the journal "Brain" confirms a certain compound binds to deposits in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

It is estimated that up to 4.5 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's, including 50 percent of those older than age 85 and 10 percent of those over age 65. The number of those affected is expected to triple over the next 50 years.

The deposits are beta-amyloids. The compound is called Pittsburgh Compound B or PIB. Pitt researchers have always believed those two substances bind together in the brain. But until now, it could only be confirmed with an autopsy.

The study findings change that.

PIB is a radioactive compound that can be injected into the blood stream. Used with pet imaging, it lets researchers not only see the brain but also see where the beta-amyloid plaque deposits that kill brain cells and cause Alzheimer's are located.

In the study, researchers used PIB pet imaging on a 63-year-old Alzheimer's patient. The scan revealed the radioactive PIB in specific areas of her brain. When the woman died 10 months later, researchers analyzed her autopsied brain and found an exact match to the PET scan images.

Sophisticated lab studies on the autopsied brains of 27 people confirmed Alzheimer's patients gave researchers the results they hoped for, that PIB binds almost exclusively to beta-amyloid. Researcher could now be able to diagnose Alzheimer's while the patient is living, where as now, it cannot be for sure diagnosed until after death.

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